Cherry Grrl Interviews the Hilarious Erin Foley

She’s a hugely talented comedian with a style and wit that has earned her a spot as one of the most in demand and popular stand-up performers around and she’s a gifted actress whose impeccable comedic timing and ease in front of the camera has placed her alongside the most sought-after funny ladies working in entertainment today. Erin Foley is also openly gay and without a doubt one of the lesbian community’s favorite rising stars. From New York City’s comedy club circuit to her Gays R Us show at the Hollywood Improv and her upcoming adventure aboard the Sweet Cruise, Foley fills Cherry Grrl in on how it all started, being out on stage, and the art of swatting at gays falling from the sky.

Cherry Grrl (CG): Where are we catching you? Are you out in LA?
Erin Foley (EF): I am… New York is home but LA is the new location.

CG: How has that east to west coast transition been going for you?
EF: It’s been fun. I was in Manhattan for ten years and I was a little fried so the move out here was really for TV and film opportunities. It’s been great – I’m enjoying myself out here. But the ultimate goal is to move back to Manhattan.

CG: So, going back to the beginning – to when you were in New York – how did you know that you wanted to be a comedian and how did you first get started?
EF: Well I really had no idea I was going to be in comedy. I moved to Manhattan because my sister lived in New York and I always wanted to live there and I had done some improv comedy in college, randomly. So I was about to apply to Grad school – because I was always wanted to teach – and I thought I would do some improv comedy before I went to Grad school. So I was like, I’ll do some improv and hold off on Grad school for like a year or two and bum around in New York. And with the improv we were performing in stand-up comedy clubs and that was the first introduction to stand-up comedy that I had. I had never actually really heard of it before. So I kind of got a late jump on everything – because by that time I was like 24 or 25. So I just started watching all this stand-up and I loved it, I fell in love with it. I loved how I didn’t have to rely on six other people for a schedule and creativity and what not. I really loved the fact that you could think about something at 4pm and talk about it at 8pm – and that’s what I still love about it, the immediacy of it. So then I just started doing it, and I bombed terribly, but I still loved it so I took another like six months and just watched Jim Gaffigan and Judy Gold and Wanda Sykes and Joy Behar and Brian Regan and some of my favorite comedians of all time – you’re spoiled in Manhattan because it’s the best of the best. So I was seeing them in action and just kind of watching as much as I could and then I started six months later. And I never made it to grad school (laughs)… to the chagrin of my mother. But yeah, that’s sort of the roundabout route that I took into stand-up comedy.

CG: And what was your coming out process like in terms of your career?
EF: Well when I started stand-up I was still straight. I’m an aggressive late bloomer so I really had no idea, which sounds insane looking back, and makes me laugh. So for me everything was a learning process. I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for about 10 years and I think for maybe seven years of it I didn’t talk about my personal life at all. And then I figured out I was gay and that takes a while to get your head around, let alone talk about on stage. I could have never done that right away, but I always thought I would probably talk about it at some point. It was just me growing as a person and a stand-up comedian, versus like a choice not to talk about it. I just knew that when the timing was right I would talk about it and I reached a certain point where I really wanted to talk about it because it was fun. I was comfortable with myself as a person and then it became super fun to talk about. And let’s say out of 10 shows maybe five shows I talk about being gay and five shows I don’t  – it’s sort of like how I’m feeling at that time or what the audience is like… if I feel like it. But certainly I think it makes me a complete performer, and it’s really fun.

CG: Have you ever had any regrets about being out or felt like it has helped or hurt your career in any way?
EF: I have to say no regrets whatsoever. Because with stand-up, if you’re really a true stand-up comedian, I think you have to talk about your life – and it’s a part of my life. So, no… not at all. I don’t really know how to answer if it’s helped or hurt my career… I think probably both. But I think at the end it really doesn’t mater to me. I mean I consider stand-up different from my acting career and hopefully I won’t lose opportunities because I am gay  – but I am in fact gay (laughs). I do love women…so I could really care less. It’s been a lot of fun and I think it would hurt me tremendously as a person if I didn’t talk about it – I think I’d be miserable. So at the end of the day I would have to say it’s helped.

CG: And in terms of your being gay and a comedian, you were able to really showcase both in “A Gaythering Storm,” the parody of NOM’s Anti-Gay Marriage PSA.  What was it like to be a part of that and how did you get involved with it?
CG: That was really fun. I’m good friends with Liz Feldman and Mike Rose, who wrote it – we’re sort of in the same comedy loop. And Lauren Palmigiano at Funny or Die, who is hysterical, produced it and she’s gay. So we all saw that original video and it’s funny because I emailed Lauren and I was like, we should do a spoof of this and she was like, “Liz is already writing it!” And then she got all these fun celebs to do it – it was really fun. But I think it was hard to watch the original video and not burst out laughing and think of a spoof. So yeah, it was really fun just to be a part of. Because the original video was just absolutely hysterical – it was like: really?! I mean it was like embarrassing for them. You know what I mean? You’d have to be like – well you know… to each his own. I’m not going to like rake the video through the coals… Let’s just put it this way: I just burst out laughing… and leave it at that.

CG: Well one of the best parts of the video was definitely when you were swatting at gay people falling from the sky.
EF: (laughs) Yeah well I have this joke that I wrote years ago about this website that I stumbled upon and the premise of the joke was the website – the website was like a help website about people who encounter unwanted homosexuality, which made me laugh, yet again… so much makes me laugh.  So part of the joke that I have is that straight people are going to work in the morning and we’re swooping down at them like bats. And part of the joke is like, “Get them off me!” and I’m swatting my hair and stuff. So that was part of the swatting, based on a joke that I had written years ago (laughs). So it all just came full circle I guess on that day. It was really fun.

CG: It was hysterical. So, you will be performing on the upcoming Sweet Cruise. Are you looking forward to that?
EF: I am, yeah. For some reason I have never been on a cruise, and never wanted to be on a cruise, because of the girth of cruise ships. But Shannon approached me a couple years ago and she told me this idea was in the works and what I loved about it was the whole green notion of the cruise and giving back to communities. And Shannon is a friend of mine and Suzanne Westenhoefer is a friend of mine and they just sort of pitched it to me and I thought, well, if you’re going to go on any cruise you should probably go on this one. And you know, a big floating boat of lesbians is probably nothing but a good time. So yeah, I said yes and now it’s right around the corner. But really, the whole green initiative and her trying to do something new and give something back to the community was really the impetus for going… and you know, alcohol and gay chicks was certainly the icing on the cake for that one.

CG: Well speaking of the gay chicks…you have some fans who are pretty vocal about their crushes on you. Does it scare you at all to be kind of trapped on a boat with them for a week?
EF: Umm… yes. I’m not going to lie. You know, my whole life – it sounds crazy – but I’ve shied away from like, the limelight. I like to do my comedy and then like run out the backdoor. I just love doing stand up and I love acting and then I kind of like to hide. So the thing about being in close quarters I guess is going to be a little bit overwhelming. But we’ll see – hopefully they’ll have a lot of gin aboard. And also I think my twin sister, who is straight, is going to come with me and hopefully my girlfriend too. So we’ll have some barriers. But those women, honestly – I have to say this about the lesbian community: they’re adorable. Like they’re so loyal and welcoming and have been so embracing from day one – so it’s nothing more than me being a little shy. It’s certainly not unwelcome. They’re so well intentioned so it’s more about me not being comfortable with all that. It’s certainly not me being snobby or anything like that. They’re adorable.

CG: So is your sister an identical twin?
EF: She’s fraternal. She’s awesome – she’s like my favorite part about anything. She’s a social worker in Manhattan so I was like come on the boat with me and take a break from New York City for a week. And she does a lot of community organizing so I think it would be right up her alley. So I’m just going to buy her the plane ticket and get her on the boat.

CG: Well I as going to say that if she’s identical that would have been pretty interesting for her as a straight women, having adoring lesbian fans coming up to her.
EF: (laughs) I think she’d have a coronary! But she’s certainly very gay friendly from putting up with me for all these years. But I really hope she gets the time off work and gets to come with me.

CG: So do you think you will have time to get involved with the voluntourism projects?
EF: Yeah that’s the whole point for me going. I mean doing comedy is pretty dreamy but for me, getting up and digging in was the whole point in going. I’m not really good with downtime so honestly it’s not like a vacation for me – it is work and also the whole volunteering part of it is why I wanted to go. I’ve turned down cruise after cruise so for me that aspect of it is awesome. I think it’s going to be so fun to see all those ports and to see all those different countries but to really go into needs-based communities is really fantastic.

CG: What can you tell us about other upcoming projects of yours and where we can find you next?
EF: I actually have two upcoming TV projects. Hopefully they will both come to fruition in the next few months, which is exciting because I’ve been working on them for a while. And all that TV stuff is awesome because it’s fun to do and it’s great exposure and it really helps the stand up. And as a woman, and as a gay woman, trying to perform all over in these clubs is hard enough so anything you do on TV really helps you perform more, which is the whole point. So I’m looking forward to that.

For more about Erin visit http://www.erinkfoley.blogspot.com. Also be sure to check out her show, Gays R Us, starting back up on September 2, 2009 at the Hollywood Improv and running on the first Wednesday of every month thereafter. Write to gaysruscomedy@gmail.com to learn more.